


That Something

by MyDemons



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Eventual Smut, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Forgive Me, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied Jasper/Peridot (Steven Universe), Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-06-19 22:46:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15520341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyDemons/pseuds/MyDemons
Summary: Peridot is a depressed techie with trust issues and a crippling fear of abandonment.Lapis is a flirty, bipolar marine bio student with a troubled past.By an uncontrollable twist of fate, these two worlds collide - and changes them forever. But then again, its only college right?





	1. Welcome To College

**Author's Note:**

> First ever Lapidot fic! Forgive me if I am not very accurate in my portrayal of BPD, as I myself don't have it. But I do do my research!

Collage.

The next step in any average career-seeking persons life. The “good old years”, to some. The “please leave me alone I hate everyone here” years to Peridot. She had just been accepted into Beach City University not even a month ago, full tuition for their robotics programmes. 

Three boxes stacked dangerously high in her arms, obscuring the view of her pale, freckled face, were all of her belongings from home. Refusing to bring anything she could lose or break with her on the three hour drive to her new campus was a rather good call in her opinion. She didn’t need all that junk anyway.

Placing the boxes beside the door of her new dormroom, Peridot pulled her keys out of her jean shorts pocket, shoving them into the keyhole, turning it and…-

“Hey roomie!” The door suddenly flung open, a short, lilac haired latina girl jumped out to greet her. Shocked at the sudden noise, Peridot stepped back, slipping on nothing, and falling flat on her butt. The boxes dropped to the floor, most of her belongings spilling out into puddles of mess around it. “Oops! Sorry,” the girl apologize nervously. Peridot simply grunted.

She quietly picked up her stuff after adjusting her round glasses, quickly shoving them back into their respective boxes and turning to her ‘roommate’. The blonde picked up her boxes, standing in front of her, barely able to see her again. The girl quickly moved from the doorway, allowing Peridot through and watching her curiously as she carried her stuff on unstable legs to her room. 

Once she had placed the boxes down, Peridot examined her room. It was, ordinary. Plain. Boring. She would need some posters, and maybe a few books and a carpet to make it really look good. She’d get those things later. With a sigh, she flopped down onto her bed, her body relaxing and letting go of the tension that had built up from the drive here.

“So,” Right. She had a roommate now. “My names Amethyst! Second year in the performing arts. Pretty cool, huh? What's your name?”

“Peridot,” she replied, sitting up and holding the girls dark brown gaze with her own green one. She mustered up all the emotion she could, hoping her eyes portrayed the annoyance she was feeling to the other.

“Cool! What programme you in?” Amethyst asked, stepping inside the room. Peridot shot up, ushering her out of the room again. Confusion crossed the girls face, but she stepped out. But she still obviously wanted an answer.

Peridot sighed, “computer science and robotics.”

“Woah! That’s like, so wild!” Amethyst beamed, grinning. “My uh, friend Pearl is taking that programme too! She’s a second year like me, though.”

“Interesting,” Peridot feigned interest in what the girl said, closing the door behind her as she stepped into the shared living quarters. Amethyst went on to talk about her friend, to which Peridot easily tuned out. She took this time, however, to look around. The kitchen was fairly large in size, not that she would ever use it besides for the fridge. The shared bathroom was to the left of her room, and across the open space was what she assumed was Amethyst room. 

“...-And she’s like, so smart too! She’s the only reason I passed last year. Helped me study for the exams.” Amethyst finished, her face slightly red in colour. “But anyway, I’ll leave you to your stuff. I’m meeting some friends at the restaurant nearby- hey! You should join us!”

Peridot frowned, stepping closer to her door. “No.”

“Oh,” Amethyst looked down, dejected, but quickly recovered. “Well if you change your mind you should come meet everyone! I think you’ll fit in pretty well.” 

The blonde didn’t reply. She had no intentions of making friends with anyone. Just to get through the three years of her studies and go work in her mother's business. Just like how things had been planned for her since she was eleven. 

After the door shut behind her, Peridot began unpacking her things. First was her cloths, which she sloppily put into the white dresser that had been delivered days before he arrival. Then her books - which were either manga or books on robotics. And a few on astrology.Then came her ‘collection’. Posters, action figures, and even a green canadian flag. Her Camp Pining Hearts collection took up most of the three boxes she had brought. 

Finally, her laptop. Which she placed on top of the large work desk she had begged her mother to purchase for her. She packed a few of the books that didn’t fit into the small bookshelf into the sides. At last, she stepped back and admired her room. Peridot brushed off her green hoodie as if the work she had done covered her in dust.

She frowned deeply, however, sitting on her bed. It wasn’t the same as her apartment room back home in the town over. That was home - where she had lived for three years after she moved out of her parents house. She rubbed her upper arm, looking at her exposed knees and sighing.

The techie hoped her year would be better than her high school years. It had to be.


	2. Chapter Two

Peridot woke to the sound of something crashing to the floor in the next room. The intruding noise startled her, sending her body into a frantic flight response. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her breathing quickened before it got hard and painful. She hid her face with her hands before her brain was able to process what was going on.

 

With an unusual haste, the blonde reached into her nightstand to pull out her puffer. She shook it vigorously before taking a puff. Then another. 

 

Allowing her heart rate to return to a normal pace, Peridot stood up. Mumbling to herself about respect and how to show it, she picked up her phone - which must have fallen from its place on her bedside dresser in her struggled search for her inhaler. Flipping through the apps she opened her alarm and turned it off. No point going back to bed for 45 minutes.

 

Once she had completed her routine of checking all of her social media, Peridot laid back down. With a sigh, she grabbed her thick glasses, putting them on her face as everything went from a blur to a crisp image instantly. 

 

After a long contemplation of whether getting a degree in anything was worth it, she stood up. The blonde techie grabbed the water bottle in front of her, taking a small sip, holding the water in her mouth as she reached beside her inhaler for a container of pills. Quickly unscrewing the top, she frowned.  _ Only one left, _ she sighed internally and made note to run by the pharmacy to get more. 

 

She swallowed the pill easily before turning to the rest of her room. It had been a few days since she had moved in, and all of her furniture was in place already. The bed was no longer just white, but white with silver and mint green paisley patterning. Her pillows white or mint green. On top of her bedside dresser was a small, but still bright, lamp - the shade being, again, a soft mint green. In fact, most of the decorating was done in either white or mint green.

 

She just liked the colour. A lot.

 

Pulling on a pair of ripped dark jeans, a grey tank top and her usual green flannel over top. A pair of plane white socks to match her white sports bra. And her panties - well, she had to keep some things to herself.

 

Once she opened the door, she instantly regretted it. There was three other people in their shared living quarters that were not residents of the dorm room. The blondes face contorted into an unhappy frown that even to her felt more than forced. But the three heads turned from her to Amethyst again as the short drama geek continued to throw her body around in her speech.

 

Peridot, now invisible to the uninvited quests and her roommate, made her way toward the bathroom. Closing the door behind her a bit louder than she had anticipated. Oh well. Maybe they’d leave.

 

She stared at herself in the mirror, grimacing before turning on the tap and brushing her teeth.

 

Her mother had, reluctantly, put her on medication for, as she had said, “teenage moodiness”. But Peridot had seen next to no change in her thoughts or behavior - three weeks later. Spitting out the paste from her mouth, she turned the tap to warmer water and splashed her face a few times.

 

Next came the task of brushing her hair. It wasn’t hard to brush through, but it was annoying to try and pin back. A green hair clip was placed in to hold her bangs out of her face. Finally feeling a little less sleep-gross, the blonde exited the room. 

 

It was empty now, much to Peridots relief. They must have left as she was in the bathroom. Looking at her phone, she nodded to herself and put it away. It was only 6:30 am right now. Her first class wasn’t until 8 o’clock. She had time to go to the cafe down the block and get a coffee.

 

Her green, overly worn converse were placed on her feet before she exited her dorm and headed toward the staircase. Some students, who she assumed had early classes, were already running around. The hallway wasn’t packed, but it was far from empty at this point. Peridot sighed for the umpteeth time before exiting via the stairs. Luckily for her out-of-shape self she was only on the second floor and it was an easy walk down.

 

The cool breeze hit her face, reminding her it was already autumn. She thanked the stars right then that she had decided to wear her flannel instead of her usual Tee. She would have froze.

 

Cars drove past her, honking at each other, rushing to get to their dead-end jobs, or to return to their mundane families. What was the rush for that? Peridot had no idea. It all seemed useless and stupid to her. But she also knew it was the fate which she would face soon as well, which made her want to cringe.  _ I’d rather drown than be like that, _ she growled, lowering her gaze as the cafe came into sight. 

 

The building was small - she had learned from one of the few staff members that they were just starting out. Peridot didn’t mind. It was a nice place to sit and drink her coffee, so she couldn’t care less if there were not a lot of options on the menu. She invited the warmth onto her face as she opened the door, the smell of coffee hitting her face. It lit up her senses, and her mouth watered slightly at the thought of a warm cup of the good shit.

 

Standing at the counter, Peridot noticed the cafe was busier than it had been in the few days she came in. In fact, she could only see a single table open. The rest were occupied. Luckily, it was her table that was empty. 

 

“Morning!” The older man behind the counter greeted her, “what can I get you?”

 

“Just an Americano, please, three sugar,” she replied, stepping aside after putting the cash down on the counter. Her attention was brought from the man making her coffee to a table with a familiar face.

 

“...-don’t say that!” Amethyst snorted, the table bursting into laughter. Peridot shifted herself so she could see them without outright staring at them. The lilac haired roommate shifted, pushing something toward another girl, her dark afro the first thing she noticed. The girl didn’t reply, simply pushing it toward the person beside her. A snort, then another loud laugh erupted from the girl, who had flung her head back, allowing a quick view of dyed blue hair.

 

Peridot adjusted her glasses, blinking as she turned to grab her coffee. She slowly made her way to her table, which was on the other side of the cafe from her roommate and her rather loud entourage. Taking a sip, the hot liquid hit her tongue, startling her by the intense heat. She put the cup down, blowing out air from her mouth in an attempt to cool her tongue off.

 

Somehow, Amethyst must have seen her, as suddenly another body was seated across from her. The latina girl blinked at her, smiling expectantly. Peridot must have zoned out as the girl seemed to be awaiting a response. Great.

 

“What?” Peridot asked, putting the lid on her coffee agin.

 

“I said, come sit with us!” She repeated, nodding her head to the group sitting just a few seats away. They all looked at her expectantly, and suddenly Peridot felt very, very small. It seemed as if everyone's eyes were on her, judging her, laughing at her. Her hand shook as she reached for her coffee, desperate to put some sort of barrier between her and them. She took a hesitant sip, this time it didn’t burn. Or did it? She couldn’t tell now. 

 

Amethyst waited for her reply, a happy patience laced with something akin to concern in her eyes. Another person was beside her now, blue hair the first thing she focused on. Then was the dark blue hoodie, which turned into a pair of rather short shorts, giving a generous view of the girls…-

 

Peridot caught herself, turning from where she had trailed her eyes, to Amethyst, who was still silently waiting.

 

“No,” came her reply finally. “I-I mean no thanks, I’m good.”

 

“Awe,” the bluenette voiced, leaning on the table more. “C’mon! Come sit with us, cutie!” She encouraged, leaning closer to Peridot - who felt as if she was about to explode like a time bomb. Her heart rate had picked up again, and her hands got clammy. She felt like she was about to puke up all of the coffee she had sucked down in what felt like three seconds.

 

“Lapis,” a stern voice called, and the tall girl with the afro stood beside her, grabbing the bluenettes hand and pulling it away from Peridots arm. When had she grabbed her arm? Peridot suddenly felt the world spin. There were too many people here. Everyone in the cafe had turned to look at the noise, at them, at  _ her. _ She needed to get out. And she needed to get out  _ now. _

 

“I-I uhm, I need to go,” Peridot finally stood, pushing past the other girls as she raced for the door. She could hear the bluenette laugh, her voice high and overly excited. Then before she closed the door, she could hear a quick word thrown her way.  _ Cute. _ Again. Someone in there had called her that infuriating word. Again.

 

Her hand clenched around her coffee cup, which luckily was empty now. Everyone who had bullied her had used the same word. Had said her reactions were cute, were weak. Pitiful. That's what they had thought of her. That group couldn’t have been much different than any other.

 

Peridot felt the hot tears down her face, fear budding in her gut. Fear and shame. 

 

She didn’t attend any of her classes that day.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge, HUGE thanks to “some lesbian weeb” (lmao) for helping me learn more about bipolar! Hopefully this fits the bill a bit? 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!!

The next week passed with many rushed, but probably sincere apologies pushed through the wooden door of her room from the loud girl she called a roommate.

At first, Peridot had ignored it. It was a pleasantry. Any morally conscious person would apologize. But that didn’t mean they meant it. After about the twentieth apology, Peridot felt nothing but guilt. She had really made Amethyst upset. _Way to go, stupid. You messed up already!_

The blonde hugged her laptop closer to her chest. The walk to her first period class was long. She has to go through the biology wing first, which was a long hallway that curved into a semi-circle to reach the computer wing. Which was two lovely classes at the back of the school.

Her oversized, lime green hoodie was her not barrier between her and the bio students as she carefully maneuvered her way through. She had avoided her roommate for the better part of the week. Luckily, her roommate did the same. 

Whispering caught her attention, and she directed her gaze toward a large, buff blonde. She had herself pressed up against the lockers, a slightly shorter, but still taller than Peridot, bluenette. She recognized her. It was Lapis right? Yeah, sounds right.

“Oh come on,” the buff girl laughed, her voice rough and tone harsh. “You love me, right? Just do this one thing for me, Lappy!”

“No,” the girl yelled, pushing her violently away. “Do it yourself, Jasper!”

The girl stormed pasted, her eye face downcast and not like Peridot had seen the first day. She seemed, sad. A familiar look in her eye, reminding Peridot of herself in a way. 

Lapis looked at her, moving around to avoid her, but not after flashing her a look that Peridot didn’t quiet understand. 

Suddenly, the buff bully was upon her. Peridot looked up, terror in her eyes at the sneering blonde. Her nose was crooked, possibly broken before and healed incorrectly. Her skin was dark, but patches of lighter skin appeared on her face and arms. Peridot diagnosed it as Vitiligo. But it didn’t make her look any less intimidating to the extremely short techie. 

In fact, she was practically dwarfed by the giant!

“Get out of the way, runt,” she growled, pushing her forcefully out of the way. Her back collided with the wall, painfully. 

Peridot looked up, watching the large bully turn into another room before standing up. The bell rang. Fantastic! She was late. 

Hurrying to her class, she took the seat at the back after nodding to the teacher. The lesson began, something about binary code and how to manipulate it to decode passwords and usernames. The teacher was a real hacker-wannabe. 

Once they were allowed to open their laptops, Peridot shoved her headphones into her ears, playing music off of TubeTube to keep her attention on her coding. 

They were tasked with making a fully functioning, username and password protected website on anything they wanted - so Peridot was going to make one on aliens. 

A light tap on her shoulder sent her body upright. The small stimuli caught her off guard as she hasn’t expected anyone to approach her. Didn’t they know if someone had both earbuds in, they didn’t want to talk? 

“Peridot, right?” The girl asked, her hair was almost a rose-gold colour, and her eyes a soft blue. She was tall, and Peridot frowned at that. Was everyone here taller than her?

“Who’s asking?” She replied, pausing her music. 

“My names Pearl, we have a few classes together,” Peridot nodded. This girl looked familiar. “I was just going to apologize for my friends actions the other day in the cafe.”

Ah, that’s why. She had been sitting beside Amethyst at the cafe. Peridot snorted, turning her attention back to her laptop. She didn’t reply. She didn’t want this kind of pity. 

“Amethyst told me you hadn’t spoken to her since, and well, she’s quiet upset with herself for it,” Pearl continued, sitting down beside her and pulling her laptop from her back. The lid was silver, with a giant rose sticker on top covering the companies pink diamond logo. Peridot snickered. It was one of her mothers laptops. 

“And?” The blonde snorted. “Why do I care?”

“W-well I just wanted you to know she’s remorseful. So is Lapis. We all are. We didn’t mean to scare you,” Pearl smiled apologetically. Peridot just stared. 

“I don’t need this pity,” she snapped, her voice low and gravely. Pearl looked taken aback. 

“I’m not- it’s not- no no, that’s not it at all! We are all very sorry,” Pearl gave her a look that Peridot didn’t quite recognize. 

“Okay,” was her short reply. 

“And we’d like to invite you to my dorm,” she continued, pulling a slip of paper from her bag and scribbling a few things down before sliding it to the blonde. “We are having a small get together. Just some food and video games.”

Video games? Peridots attention shot up. That was something she was good at! And enjoyed! She took the slip, looking at it. Dorm room 506. Fifth floor. Yuck. 

“Only if you’d like too, of course. There is no pressure,” Peridot looked at her again, blinking. 

“I’ll be there,” she said without hesitation. The look on Pearls face was of surprise. By then relaxed into a smile. “Do I-“

“Nope! You don’t need to bring anything,” she cut her off. “Everyone is coming at about 7, but you’re welcome to come after our math class at 5.”

And before she could reply, the class was dismissed. Pearl quickly packed up her stuff and headed for the door in a rush. Peridot sat there a bit, still in shock of her own answer. Had she really just agreed to that?

——

Her math class went by fast. It was easy, and she barely had to pay attention to it. She could do the work in her head in seconds anyway. 

As soon as she was dismissed, Peridot left for her dorm room. She wanted to change her cloths into something less grimy. Her sweater hasn’t been washed in a few days. Well, her everything hasn’t been washed in a few days if she was being honest. It always slipped her mind.

The dorm was vacant. She assumed Amethyst had a class still, since it was roughly 5 o’clock. She only had the two classes today - fridays were her easy days. 

She kept her door open this time, as no one was even in the rest of the door. It was quiet. It was lonely. But she shrugged it off. Wasn’t unusual to her. She was used to it. 

The techie flipped on the lamp, tossing her phone and laptop onto her bed, her reflexes reaching for the laptop as it looked like it was about to bounce off the bed. She sighed. Luckily it hadn’t. 

Peridot searches through her dresser, producing a dark grey tank with a moon jar printed on it. She kept her jeans on - they looked fine. Then she threw her green flannel back on top as well as her yellow diamond necklace her mother had bought her as a present for her 16th birthday. Once satisfied with how she looked, she put her laptop on the charger and slid her phone into her pocket. 

“Guess I have to get going,” she mumbled, slightly irritated that she couldn’t just stay in her room and watch TubeTube. Whatever. 

The walk up the stairs was taxing. She was tired, out of breath, and wheezing. The blonde refused to bring her inhaler with her and thus had to sit for nearly ten minutes on the stairs for her breathing to return to some sort of normal. Walking down the hall, she counted the rooms until she came to Pearls - 506. 

She reaches out, hesitating to knock. _You can always go back and pretend you forgot,_ her mind reminded her. It seemed like a great idea. But her knuckles collided with the solid wood door, emitting a noise and alerting the person inside to her presence at the other side. 

The door opened slightly, revealing Pearl in her light pink hoodie and white washed jean shorts. She smiled, letting the blonde inside. 

“Glad you could make it!” Pearl smiled. Peridot mumbled a thanks before being lead toward the couch. In front of it was a rather large TV, and sitting on the floor already in front was a half asleep Amethyst. She must have skipped her class. 

“Everyone will be here in about an hour. If you want to leave, you can at any time,” Pearl said softly, going to the kitchen only to return with a glass of water for her. Peridot thanked her, taking a sip purely to put a barrier between her and the others. “Bathroom is just to the left there.”

Peridot nodded, turning to the TV and the sleeping girl in front. She sighed, placing her glass down and fiddling with her necklace until Pearl sat beside her. 

The two spoke for awhile, and Peridot - reluctant to admit - found herself enjoying the taller techies presence. It was nice, talking to someone with similar interests. Soon the door opened, revealing the girl with the Afro from before. 

“Ah, Garnet! You’re early,” Pearl greeted her, moving to the love seat and kicking Amethyst awake in the process. The girl, who she had now learned was named Garnet, sat besdie her. 

“Rose dismissed the class early,” she said simply. Pearl nodded. That seemed to be all the girl really said for most of the time. Amethyst had moved to sit beside Pearl, yawning after making a fuss about Peridot “finally leaving her room and joining the living” (a comment that made her flinch and withdraw a little). But Garnet shushed her, and the four rested in comfortable silence. 

After a little while, another face joined them. Lapis finally entered the room, apologizing for being late, and flopping onto the couch. She looked much better than she had earlier. Peridot found her eyes taking in all of the taller girl. Her hair had obviously been brown before it had been died the blue. Her eyes, brown as well. Her skin was an olive shade, much lighter than Garnets. 

“See something you like?” Peridots eyes snapped to the girls. She hadn’t realized she had been staring. Her face flushed, and the others chuckled to themselves as she hid her face behind a glass of water after sheepishly apologizing. The room fell into awkward silence.

“Oh!” Pearl clapped her hands together. “Amethyst brought her Xbox with her. Amethyst, want to turn it on now?” 

Thought it was phrased as a question, even Peridot knew it was a demand. The girl seemed to roll off the couch and turned it in, throwing in a racing game and holding up the controllers. Lapis reached for one, sitting on the ground in front of Peridot, her back touching the blondes legs. 

Peridot had to force herself to breath as Lapis cast a smirk over her shoulder, turning to the game and taking Amethyst on. Within the first couple of seconds, Lapis had pulled into second, with Amethyst in first. The two exchanged words, each taunting the other until the third lap, the two still holding their places. Amethysts screen showed the finish line, and Lapis’ still a few feet behind her. 

Before Amethyst could cross, however, Lapis clicked a button and shot a shell at her. It hit her, stunning her in-game character and Lapis sped past her, claiming first. 

“Ha!” She jumped up, punching the air. “I win! Again!” 

Amethyst groaned, falling over. “How do you always seem to beat me?!” Lapis shrugged, still grinning victoriously. Her halter style, blue crop top lifted slightly as she jumped around, and Peridot flushes, looking away. 

Garnet spoke to them, trying to calm them both down as Lapis continued to talk fast, falling over her words and nearly tripping over her feet as she was still high energy. Peridot had to admit, it was a nice change from how she had seemed prior. 

But Pearl pulled her aside, talking privately to Lapis as she rocked back and forth on her toes. When they returned, Pearl sat down and looked to Garnet, shaking her head. 

Amethyst handed the controller to Peridot, nodding to the spot beside Lapis. “Why don’t you give it a try, newbie?” She teases. Peridot opened her mouth to protest, say she wanted to just watch. But Lapis has turned to her, her eyes pleading with a child like excitement. 

Peridot took the controller, sitting beside Lapis on the floor. She picked her character, then the tracks. The screen went black before the race started. _3… 2… 1… go!_

Her hands moved in their own, pulling into first past Lapis. But she knew this girls tricks. And she had her own up her sleeve. 

The first lap was a breeze - not many shells were thrown her way. She had, however, fallen into second place behind an NPC, Lapis in fifth. In her peripheral vision, everyone was on the edge of their seats. Apparently Lapis not being in first or second was not something that happened often. But she was getting reckless, driving straight off the cliff side and stalling herself. 

Anger flared to life in the girl beside her, and Peridot could practically feel it radiating off of the blue haired beauty. Lapis’ nickles turned white, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the screen. She was in second now, Peridot in third. 

All seemed lost as she neared the finish line, Lapis smirking in victory already. But Peridot fired off her blue shell, hitting the NPC in front of Lapis, and the explosion stunning the bluenette as well. Peridot slid past the finish line, in first. 

Everyone cheered, laughing and making teasing remarks at Lapis. The girl clenched her jaw, glaring at the screen still. Peridot suddenly felt like a deer being hunted down by a lioness. But the girl just chucked the controller at the couch behind her, turning to Peridot with a sly smile. 

“Wow, not many people can like, beat me at this game. And not that easily!” She huffed, crossing her arms. “I like you, Peri.”

Peridot flushed, still on edge of the girls anger look. But she seemed content with just smirking through it. 

The rest of the night passed with more games, food and sore losing from everyone. 

At around midnight, Peridot headed back to her dorm room. Amethyst had decided to stay the night in Pearls room, and the walk was long and lonely. 

“Wait up!” Someone called, and Peridot turned to see Lapis running after her. “Thank for the great game- that was fun! No one can really beat me that easily!” She smiled, her hand tapping on her thigh anxiously. 

“Ah, you’re welcome?” The blonde replied, stepping back a bit. Her own anxiety spiked high, and she grabbed at her necklace as if it would turn her mind off. It didn’t. 

“Yeah, well, walk safe. I gotta go!” She waved her off, running quickly down the stairs. Peridot watched her go, confused but shrugged it off. She was probably just energetic. 

As soon as she entered her dorm room, a heavy weight hit her. Her shoulders and head felt heavy, and her mood died. She went to her room, realizing she hadn’t taken her medication in over a week by the shift in mood. It always had a habit of creeping in on her at the worst times. She must have been repressing it the whole night.

Peridot slipped into her pjs - a black tank and alien shorts - before laying in bed. Her phone in hand, she flipped between three apps, getting bored of one and then flipping to the other in an attempt to keep her mind down. 

After an hour of doing nothing, she decided to set a reminder to get her meds. Then, turned over and closed her eyes. 

Unfortunately for her, her mind still creeped up on her, pulling her deeper into her head. But the relief of sleep saved her. At least, for the night anyway.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see a bit more LapisxPeridot conversations as well as some ANGST. My poor baby, I like to torment her too much. Forgive me everyone? <3
> 
> Sorry for the short chapter! Next few are longer I promise! Thank you to everyone who is enjoying it so far and for all the kind words! Love you all!!

Sunday rolled around far to slow for Peridots liking. Her classes the day before were long, boring and loud. 

The only class she enjoyed was at the end of the day. Computer science. The first half of the class was a refresher in some computer languages, and the second half working on the project. Pearl had taken to sitting beside her, and Peridot found she rather enjoyed the uptight bird-moms company. The two chatted about their websites, Peridot even offering to help with some of the functionality while Pearl offered to help with how hers looked. 

While her Saturday was busy, her Sunday was anything but. She had no classes - it was her only day off. She had spent the better half of the day just laying in bed watching videos and writing more coding for her project before a notification on her phone reminded her she needed to pick up her medications.

After throwing on her green hoodie and dark jeans, the blonde had started for the pharmacy down the road. It was the only one near enough to walk too.

The weather had turned nippy and cold over the past week. Leaves started to change from green to red or gold before releasing their hold on the trees. Fall was right round the corner now. Peridot smiled slightly at the thought. _Hoodie weather!_

She turned on her music, listening to her only upbeat playlist and put both headphones into her ears. Humming along, the techie took in all of the sights the big city had to offer. 

People were out and about — the street she had taken looked to be mostly little shops and cafes. A few she even made a mental note to check when she was on her way back. 

Her medication was more important than a few useless items she could get for far cheaper on the Internet. 

The warm air from the pharmacy hit her face like a pillow - soft, but hard enough to catch her off guard. She hadn’t realized how cold it actually was outside until she was standing inside the heated building. 

Peridot pulled one headphone out of her ear as she walked up to the counter. The man behind the counter looked at her for a moment, giving her a look the techie knew all too well.

A look of disgust. He obviously had worked under her mother at some point before her aunt had taken co-ownership of the company. Hundreds of people lost their jobs then.

“I need my meds,” she said flatly, sliding the paper with her prescription information on it. He narrowed his eyes, but obliged to his work duty. Peridot stepped to the side, allowing the few people in line behind her to get their own stuff.

Taking a mental step back, Peridot was able to mentally prepare for paying. When her name had been called, she reached over the counter to grab it when something grabbed her —

Furious, she turned around to see a few high school boys laughing and running off. The staff behind the counter did nothing. Anger and shame built up on her chest and face, but before she could explode, a familiar voice cut in.

“She just had her ass grabbed, and you fuckers aren’t doing anything?!” The girl roared, her voice filled with rage as she leaned closer to the mans face. “That’s sexual assault! And you aren’t doing a fuckin’ thing!” 

“Ma’am there isn’t-“ 

“Yes there is!” She growled. Peridot stepped back. It felt like she was watching a lioness defend her young. “There’s lots you can do! Or are you too stupid to do anything? Is that it?”

“Lapis!” Peridot squeaked out. She reached forward, hesitant to touch her arm to show it was okay, but ended up grabbing her hand when the bluenette went to pull away. The girl swung around, fury in her eyes causing the smaller girl to flinch. 

“Why aren’t you angry?!” Lapis hissed, looking at her confused. Peridot shrugged, pulling her arm with her a bit. 

“It-it's not a big deal, really,” she lied. In all honesty she was ashamed and angry, but by the way the girl acted she didn’t want to make a bigger scene. Lapis purses her lips, tapping her fingers on the countertop. The man, shakily, handed her her own bag and sent them off with an annoyed but frightened look. 

Luckily they hadn’t called security on them. 

“If I find those assholes,” Lapis mumbled, her eyes narrowed and her face scrunched in anger still. Peridot squeezed her hand, giving her a reassuring look. 

“It's fine,” she said again. This time her voice didn’t shake with her own anger. “It’s whatever, honestly, it happens to everyone.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s okay,” she frowned. Lapis was right. But the blonde shrugged again. It was then the blue haired girl realized their hands were still connected. Her eyes went wide before she looked around, something like panic in her eyes for the split second Peridot was allowed to see them. 

“Are you—“

“Let go,” Lapis ordered, pulling her hand away. Peridot let go, confused and even slightly afraid. “I-sorry I-I have to-to go.” 

And the girl took off toward the school, leaving Peridot confused.

She looked at her hand, examining it as if she had never seen the appendage before. Was something wrong with it? The blonde rubbed it on her thigh. Had it been sweaty?

Was something wrong with her?

Head swimming in paranoia, Peridot mechanically walked back to campus, into her dorm, and ignoring Amethyst as she went to her room and slammed the door. 

Why had Lapis been so afraid? Was she ashamed of being seen with the short techie? Was it because of her family? 

Did Lapis _hate_ her?

A soft knock on the door broke her out of her trance, and Peridot shot up. Her cheeks felt wet, and she furiously wiped away the oily tears. 

“What?” She sniffled, refusing to move from her bed. The door opened slowly, and Amethysts head poked into the room. 

“I uh, I made you some tea. I didn’t know what kind you liked so I just made green. I put two teaspoons of sugar in it. I heard you order your coffee with a lot of sugar and I uh, yeah, here,” the Latina walked in and placed the mug on her desk, avoiding Peridots glare. 

“Wow, thanks,” she mumbled, sniffling again. 

“You okay, P-dot?” She asked, sitting on her bed. Peridot jumped up defensively. 

“Please get out of my room,” she ordered. Amethyst looked taken a back, but obliged and exited the room, closing the door behind her. But not after a few final words. 

“I’m here if you wanna talk, y’know,” and the door clicked shut. 

Peridot huddled into herself again, staring at the steaming tea for what seemed like hours before finally getting up and along a sip. It was still quite bitter, but she swallowed it all down quickly. No sense in wasting it. 

After she had downed the bitter tea, she crawled back into bed and kicked off her pants and hoodie. She just laid there in her underwear, sprawled out on the bed and staring at the roof. 

Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it and closed her eyes. It was probably only her mother checking in on her grades anyway. 

She turned over, turning her back to her constantly buzzing phone. Peridot clenched her fists, holding them to her chest as she held herself close. Holding back tears always felt easier when she was huddled in herself.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy chapter everyone enjoy!

The next few days passed by Peridot in a blur of empty words and forgotten conversations. She barely had the energy to wake up, having to force herself to get dressed and at least brush her teeth. 

She went about her daily classes like a robot, taking naps between her 12am class and her 4pm class. She slept most of the time, and had forgotten to take her medication. 

In her depressive state she hadn’t noticed the absence of Pearl in her classes, nor had she questioned why. 

It was Wednesday again, and she had finished her classes for the day and intended to go back to her room to sleep when someone grabbed her arm and dragged her to the end of a dark hallway. 

When she finally opened her eyes, they made contact with deep, feral hazel ones. Fear spread through her body, paralyzing her in place. 

“You,” the larger one growled in her face. “You were the one _my_ Lappy was with!”

She slammed Peridots back into the wall, eliciting a pained groan from the shorter girl. Peridot opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the girl grabbing her shirt and lifting her up. 

“Stay away from her, she’s _MINE_!” Head spinning in fear and panic, Peridot kicked her feet out, hitting her in the chest. 

“Let me go!” She squeaked, flailing around. But Jasper held her tightly. 

“You bitch,” Jasper snarled. She dropped her, aiming her now clenched fist at the girls face. Peridot shut her eyes, expecting to be hit or knocked out. 

But instead, she heard a soft grunt from in front of her as Jaspers fist collided with the wall beside her head. 

“Jasper,” Garnets voice cut through. “Leave her alone. Go pick on someone else.”

Peridot opened her eyes, seeing Garnets back in front of her. She hugged her knees close, watching the two yell. Or rather, Jasper yelling something about someone cheating on her with Peridot.

“Hey,” someone whispered in her ear, pulling her arm gently away. The touch felt familiar, and she looked up to see the blue hair of Lapis. 

Jasper was too busy screaming and getting furious to notice the two slip away. 

They walked in silence as Lapis lead Peridot toward her room, allowing the girl to enter her own dorm before following and closing the door. 

Pearl was sitting beside Amethyst, looking flustered and embarrassed. Amethyst on the other hand had a proud look on her face, but equally as flushed. Peridot didn’t care enough to comment on it. 

“What happened?” Pearl asked, gasping as she reached for the two.

“What the fuck do you think happened?” Lapis snapped, glaring. Peridot flinched st the sudden noise, stepping away and toward her room. 

The three spoke for a while, allowing Peridot to slip away into her room and shutting the door. Luckily no one bothered her for a while. 

She took this time to do a mental check on herself. Grabbing her phone and opening the running note she had, she began writing what happened, how it made her feel, and how she was going to deal with it. This often helped her in stressful situations - and she deemed it high priority when her own abusive ex-friend suddenly attacked her from out of no where. 

She had barely remembered Jasper from when they were kids - they were close, and her mother adored Jasper. It wasn’t until they were teens that the taller girl started to show her true colours. 

Peridot shivered. Luckily she was barely able to remember much of those years.

A soft knock on the door alerted her again that there was in fact still people out there. The blonde shut her eyes, expecting to see Amethyst at her door. 

“P-dot?” She was right. “You good?” 

“Wonderful,” she replied flatly. Amethyst stepped into the room, hesitated, and then went back out. 

“We are ordering a pizza if you want to join us. I mean, I know all that just happened but like, pizza.”

Peridot smiles slightly at her effort to explain why pizza would make it better. In all honesty, she was starving. She hadn’t eaten in a few days and would kill a man for a slice of pizza. 

“Or you can—“

“No, I’ll come out. I mean, only if you really want me too.”

Amethyst lit up. She smiled, nodding and allowing the blonde to change cloths. 

Within the hour, the pizzas had arrived - or rather, Pearl and Garnet had picked them up from the local pizzaria down the street from the campus. 

Peridots anxiety had been out to rest, nearly forgetting about the incident while she talked and joked around with her…

Friends? What even were they? Surely they just tolerated her because for some reason she was easy to pick on. Did they genuinely want her around? Probably not. 

Her mood dampened, and she went quiet for a while. No one seemed to notice. 

“You okay?” Lapis asked, leaning closer to her so her shoulder rested beside hers. 

Peridot shied away, but the taller girl just leaned closer to her. 

“Yeah,” she replied simply. She didn’t want to talk about. The girl seemed to catch onto that. 

“We never really had like a formal introduction,” she giggled. “I’m Lapis Lazuli.”

“Peridot,” The blonde introduced herself. She hesitated. Will they hate her for her last name? “Peridot Diamond.”

The whole room seemed to swing to look at her. She shrunk back. Not again… here comes the hate.

“That’s so cool! You’re like, famous then!” Amethyst interrupted. 

“Not really,” she shrugged. “My mother forgets about me most of the time. Cameras and people aren’t my thing.” 

“Awe,” Lapis smirked. “Camera shy, huh? With your looks? Impossible!” 

Peridot blushed - and she blushed hard. Lapis seemed to just smile more at this. 

“I-I’m not- I mean I’m-“ She his her face in her hands, unable to see the content-happy faces of the others. 

“You mean ‘you’re adorable’?” Lapis teased, causing the blush to increase on Peridots face. 

“N-no,” her voice cracked. “I’m not cute!” The blonde huffed, crossing her arms and trying to look intimidating. But this isn’t caused the others to laugh and for Lapis to gush more. 

“You are!” The bluenette pressed, and Peridot hid her face again. The teasing went on for a while, everyone laughing and watching the pair converse. 

“I should be getting back to my dorm,” Pearl spoke at last. Amethyst stood, obviously intending to go with her. 

“I’ll retire to mine, too,” Garent put in. The three left, leaving Lapis and Peridot alone. 

Peridot stood, fiddling nervously with her hands. 

“Erm, do you want to stay here? Y’know, since Amethyst isn’t here it should be okay. Right? Only if you want too I mean-“

“I’d love too!” Lapis chirped, smiling. Peridot smiled back. The girls grime as contagious!

“Do you want anything? To drink I mean. Or eat. Or something,” Lapis giggled at her, shaking her head. 

“No, I’m okay,” the two sat in comfortable silence for a while before Peridot spoke up. 

“Do you want to watch something? I have uh, I have some movies and stuff.” 

“Sure,” Lapis nodded, tapping her fingers on her thigh. “Let’s watch whatever you want too.”

Peridot shot up. “There’s this show I’ve been binging again,” she explained. “It’s really good! It’s got this amazing plot and..-“

The next hour was spent with Peridot excitedly explaining how much she loved the show, and how she had watched it all a million times. 

“-... and uh, yeah. Only if you want too I mean. The show is called Camp Pining Hearts, by the way.”

“Sounds cool! Let’s watch it,” Peridot scrambled to her room, grabbed the disks, and shoved them into the disk player back in the shared living space. 

She sat on the couch beside Lapis, beaming as she hit play on season one, episode one. 

“It starts off kinda slow — but gets better around season two. You have to watch season one though, or you’ll miss all of the character development.”

“Okay,” was the reply. The two were again engulfed in comfortable silence. Peridot only got up to make a bowl of popcorn, sitting back down. This time, she sat closer to the other, allowing the popcorn to be shared. 

They had managed to get through five episodes before calling it a night. Lapis sat on the couch, while Peridot tidied up her room. 

“Is messy,” she explained. “I usually don’t like people in my room.”

“So I’m special huh?” Lapis teased, that smirk on her face once more. 

“I guess?” Peridot shrugged. Lapis seemed to beam slightly from this. Peridot blushed once more. 

The two moved to her room, Peridot laying down some blankets on the floor. 

“You can sleep on the bed,” she informed her. Lapis frowned. 

“Can’t we both sleep on the bed?” The bluenette asked, sitting up on the bed. 

“Uh-uhm,” Peridot fumbled with her words. “Sure-sure uhm, okay.”

She handed Lapis a pair of black shorts, along with a baggy top that the girl refused. 

“I’ll sleep in my bra,” and Peridot nodded sheepishly. She exited the room to change, putting on her alien shorts and grey t-shirt. When she entered, Lapis was already laying on the bed, her arms behind her head and staring at the ceiling. 

Peridot laid beside her, cursing the large bed for being so, well, big. 

They laid in silence for a while before Lapis spoke up. 

“I’m really sorry about Jasper,” she said softly. “And about, y’know, fleeing from you the other day. And everything else.”

“It’s okay,” Peridot said reassuringly. But Lapis shook her head. 

“She gets really jealous. We haven’t been dating for a few weeks but she still thinks we are.”

“Oh,” the blonde said softly. She wasn’t sure how to respond.

“She’s a good person,” Lapis said quickly. But something told Peridot she wasn’t wig honest. But she left it alone. “She just gets, possessive. And she gets…” she trailed off. She didn’t need to say more. 

“It’s okay, honestly. I used to know her as a kid,” it was Peridots turn to speak. “She was the same.”

“I’m sorry,” Lapis whispered, barely audiable. 

“It’s okay,” but Lapis shook her head again. The two were silent again. 

Peridot reached over for her phone, having been laying on the end. She opened it for the first time in a few days, an unknown number appearing on her screen. 

Thirty-two missed calls, over seventy texts. Peridot blinked, confused. Who was trying to contact her that badly that they called more than once?

She opened the texts, scrolling through them. The tone was angry, a few death threats thrown in. 

The techie sighed, turning off her phone and turning with her back facing her bed-mate. 

After a while, Lapis’ breathing slowed and Peridot assumed she had fallen asleep. She finally closed her own eyes, but sleep didn’t come. Not that she minded. She knew it was because of the foreign body in her bed with her. 

So Peridot laid there, knowing full well she would be getting no sleep that night. But she didn’t mind. She enjoyed the blue haired girls comapny, as strange and inconsistent as she was. 

—

Movement in the bed beside her woke her from her sleep - though it felt more like a nap than anything else. Peridot opened her eyes, yawning and trying to move her body to get up. 

But sownthing heavy was around her waist. She couldn’t move. Suddenly she could feel the added heat against her back as the world came into focus. 

She twisted her neck a bit, looking at the sleeping beauty attached to her from the back. Peridot bit her lip. She looked peaceful. Wow, was all she could think. 

She turned her neck back to look at her dresser. Her unopened medication bottle was sitting there, and she sighed. She reached for her phone instead. 

Five new messages. She opened them. From the same unknown number. 

Peridot read them this time fully. A reoccurring theme of “stay away from Lapis” and death threats continued. The blonde shook slightly, fear kicking in as she put her phone down after blocking the number. 

The girl behind her stirred, pulling Peridot closer to her. Her breath tickled her neck, causing Peridot to stiffen. 

“Mmn,” Lapis mumbled, holding her tighter still. “Stop moving.” 

“L-lapis,” she managed to say. “You-you’re squishing me!”

The girls eyes shot open, releasing her hold on the short blondes chest. Peridot gasped for air, confused and flushed. 

“Oh god! I’m so sorry!” Lapis moved back, staring at her with panicked brown eyes. Peridot stares back, getting lost in them. 

“It’s okay,” she said finally. She shrugged. “Not a big deal. Who needs air, right? I know I don’t.” 

Lapis laughed at the joke. “You’re funny,” she snorted, causing her to abruptly stop laughing. Peridots smile grew wide, and she burst out laughing. 

“S-stop laughing!” Lapis demanded, embarrassed. “I said stop!” She took the nearest pillow, covering Peridots face with it. Peridot laughed more, unable to contain herself. 

“You-you—“

“Don’t you dare—“

“You snorted!” She pushed the pillow off of her face, facing the flustered bluenette. “It was cute!”

Lapis flushed, her face a shade of red Peridot had until now, never seen on a human. “No it wasn’t!”

“Yes it was!”

“No!”

“Yes!” The argument went on for a while before Lapis gave up. 

“Fine,” she huffed. “But you know what else is cute?” She leaned toward Peridot, their noses inches apart. 

“Wh-what?” Her voice cracked. Lapis smirked and pulled back. 

“Puppies!” She giggled. Peridot sat, confused, before joining in her laughter. 

“Anyway,” Peridot jumped down from the bed, extending her hand forward and bowing. “I’m hungry. Care to join me at the cafe for food and coffee?” 

Lapis giggled again, taking her hand. “Yes of course, sir, I would be honoured too.”

Peridot lead the way out of the dorm after the pair got ready for the day, leaving her phone behind her in her bed as it buzzed obnoxiously and constantly.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry for the delay! I had had the chapter written for forever now, but hadn't gotten around to posting it. Life has been... yeah. Expect at least a week between updates ^^;

“Awe, come on P-dot,” Amethyst patted the blondes back. “It’s not that bad. A ninety-five percent is an ‘A’!”

“I should have gotten perfect!” Peridot whined. “It should be one hundred percent!”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Pearl frowned. “It’s not the end of the world-“

“But it could be!” Peridot three her arms into the air, the paper with her grade written on the top left corner floating to the ground. She snarled at it in disgust. It was mocking her!

They had received their grades for the coding project, and Peridot was quiet unhappy with it. She had worked extra hard the past week - barely going out at all in order to finish it on time. 

She still didn’t ge the mark she had wanted; one hundred. 

The three were currently in Pearls dorm room, eating junk food Amethyst had brought and enjoying video games. 

“It’s not, you can make up the marks on the next assignment when we get it. Midterm exams too.”

“Eugh,” Peridot groaned, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. She was really unhappy with how her marks had turned out. 

“Let’s play a game,” Amethyst interjected into the silence. “To y’know, keep our minds out of the gutter!”

“Great idea!” Pearl clapped her hands together. “Garnet should be back soon, too.”

As if on cue, the door opened and revealed Garnet standing as stoic as ever. Beside her, though, was a high schooler Peridot had never seen before. Short, a little on the chubby side, with brown hair that poofed out in all directions. 

“Ste-man!” Amethyst jumped from where she was sitting, over the back of the couch, and toward the pair at the door. 

Peridot watched in confusion as the three gushed over the boy, who spoke to them brightly. They reminded her of a family. An odd, very young one - but a family nonetheless. 

“Oh right!” Pearl grinned. “Steven, this is Peridot.”

The boy smiled brightly at her, running up and giving her a hug. 

“Nice to meet you, Peridot! I’m Steven Quartz!” He introduced himself. 

“Peridot Diamond,” she replied awkwardly. She expected some sort of disgusted look, or for him to flinch. But he simply smiled, nodding before turning to the others. 

“Yo Steven,” Amethyst called, resting her arm on his shoulders. “Wanna play some video games?”

“Heck yes!” Steven grinned, and the two races to the TV. Both nearly tripping over each other as they hit the ground. 

Peridot sat on the couch, feeling her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out, flicking through all of the unknown number calls to one number she did recognize. 

She excused herself to the hallway, dialing the number and listening to it ring a few times before someone answered it. 

“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line answered. 

“Hey Lapis, you called me?”

“Oh! Yes right I did,” she confirmed. Peridots face grew warm as she smiled. 

“And…?”

“Oh right! Are you busy next Tuesday after classes?” She asked, speaking so fast Peridot could barely keep up. 

“I don’t think so, why?” The blonde grew stiff as her brain created scenarios of answers for her own question. But she was cut off by the girls giggling. 

“Because I was wondering if you would like too, you know, go out? Get coffee or some shit.”

Peridot blinked. And then blinked again. Her jaw grew slack, and she just stared silently. A few ‘you still theres’ from the other end of the line reminded her she needed to reply. 

“Y-yes! I uh, I mean, sure. That’d be cool, yeah,” Peridot tried to contain her smile as she heard the girl on the other side laugh again. 

“Awesome! I’ll see you Tuesday at seven! Don’t forget!” And she hung up. The techies heart pounded hard in her chest, and her face was incredibly warm. But she smiled - happier than she had been in a while. 

She turned to go back into the dorm room when her brain finally caught up with her. 

What if she was doing it to mock her? Peridot frowned. She wouldn’t do that, she told herself. _Would she?_

 _She might be making fun of me,_ her brain continued. But she shook her head of the thoughts and opened the door again. 

“Peridot!” Amethyst called her, patting the ground between her and Steven. “Come play with us!”

Peridot huffed, but walked over and plopped down beside them and grabbed the extra controller. She wasn’t sure of what the game was, but she couldn’t care. It was fun anyways. 

A few rounds turned into a few hours of different games as she skipped her evening class, continueing to play with Amethyst and Steven even after Garnet and Pearl went to their classes. 

“Man!” Steven exclaimed. “That sucks! Beat me again, Peridot.”

“She’s amazing, see? She can beat anyone!” Amethyst nodded in agreement to her own statement. Peridot snickered. 

“Well I wouldn’t say ‘amazing’.”

Amethyst snorted at her humble response. “You beat Lapis first try on that racing game!” At that, Steven gasped loudly. 

“You beat her?!” His eyes shone brightly. He grabbed her hands, and Peridot swore she could see literal stars in the dark brown, childlike eyes of the boy. “Invite me to the wedding, please.”

Peridots face and ears grew warm and she pulled back, coughing to cover up her flustered face. But she knew they both had seen it by the soft snickering from Amethyst and the gushing of Steven. 

Amethyst shoved her harshly by the shoulder, laughing at her while Steven ranted in about his theoretical wedding. 

“-with blue and green ribbons!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands together, only ceasing his admiring gaze on Peridot when Garnet patted his shoulder. 

“Alright, Steven. Don’t embarrass Peridot anymore that that.”

“Awe,” he frowned. “Okay. Sorry Peridot!” 

“It-it’s fine,” she coughed, her face still flushed. The blonde rubbed her arm, looking up to see Pearl giving her a knowing look. 

“But seriously,” Steven began, ignoring the warning glance from Pearl. “You and Lapis would be so cu-“

“That’s enough Steven,” Garnet interrupted him, this time much more adamant. The dark haired by raised his hands up in defence, showing he was backing down. 

“Anywho,” Pearl chimed in. “We should get something to eat, hm?”

“Pizza!” Steven and Amethyst both jumped up, highfiving and looking expectantly at Pearl - who shook her head in exasperation. 

“Sound good to you, Peridot?” Garnet asked, watching the short techie look around. She shook her head. 

“I have some extra work to do,” she explained. “But thanks anyway.” Garnet nodded, and Peridot gathered up her stuff - which was only her alien hoodie and her phone - before taking her leave. 

The walk to her dorm was nothing new. Boring, but not new. 

As soon as she had entered, though, she felt a wave of regret wash over her. It hit her like a tsunami and sent her reeling. 

She had no food in the fridge. Peridot frowned deeply, instantly regretting not going along with the others for pizza. But she shrugged, closing the door and walking toward her room. _I’ll just eat extra tomorrow I guess._

Sitting at her desk, she opened her laptop and looked at her ‘unfinished assignments’ folder. Empty. 

“Then gaming it is!” She grinned widely, grabbing her headset from its place on her bedside table. Without a second look at the time, or the fact she hadn’t eaten at all during the day, Peridot got right down to it.


End file.
